Wolf People
Fain

In the end, "vintage" is coming back into fashion. The '60s and '70s feel just around the corner. Some people are starting to dress like Jim Morrison and Janis Joplin again, modernity begins to feel almost too tight for us, computerized sounds as well, as if we wanted to return to that ancient splendor that shaped the musical world, but that has largely influenced the entire Western culture of the years to come. The new album by the English Wolf People is part of this musical revisionism that has as a beacon on the horizon the Jethro Tull and the other greats of the genre. It's inevitable to mention Jethro Tull, especially when returning to the notes of the previous and very interesting "Steeple", where Wolf People showcased abilities, reworking of the "myths," and a personality not to be overlooked. With the new "Fain," that reliance on the "myths of origins" loses importance, or at least that's what our wolves tell us.

Why? The new work, though undoubtedly in the wake of its predecessor, has a different compactness, a more personal songwriting, and therefore a groove that, although delicately, deviates from Jethro Tull (precisely to dare to disturb the Gods, those they are often associated with). The parallel with "Steeple" is quickly drawn: pieces like "Tiny Circle" and "Silbury Sands" find no space in this "Fain." Simply less folk and more rock. Consider the immediacy of "When The Fire Is Dead In The Grate" or the decadent fascinations of "Athol", without forgetting the return back to the seventies with "NRR". All well-crafted tracks, which seem more like isolated episodes, alongside which lie the true gems of the band's trademark: those psych ballads from English cellars and moors that had sweetened "Steeple" so much. This is the case with pieces like "Empty Vessels" and "All Returns", the two songs placed to welcome us. But the real jewel is "Hesperus", soft and dominated by the voice of Jack Sharp. A rural trip through the English mist, with those guitar melodies that even recall the most epic period of Maiden. The same psychedelic flashes in the splendid "Thief", an exemplification of Wolf People's style.

The new creation of Wolf People is once again a demonstration of the quality of the British group's songwriting. Few embellishments, no kind of musical sophistry, but very precise ideas. "Fain" has the rock reverberation of times gone by, while being a work that certainly won't affect this musical world. It is a record of artistic awareness, of good music, of the old folk-rock that we loved so much. In the end, a brief return to the past is always welcome, especially in the new "boom" of vintage.

1. "Empty Vessels" (4:58)
2. "All Returns" (4:50)
3. "When The Fire Is Dead In The Grate" (6:35)
4. "Athol" (5:39)
5. "Hesperus" (7:01)
6. "Answer" (3:06)
7. "Thief" (7:01)
8. "NRR" (5:18)